


Naomi Shepard - Treaty Writer and Reaper Killer

by RhiRosario



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, M/M, Post-Reaper War (Maybe), Tags to be added, The Reaper War, When I think of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 07:06:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14038845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhiRosario/pseuds/RhiRosario
Summary: Naomi Shepard; Spacer, Sole Survivor, and last hope of a galaxy.After a year of hell; forced to wrok with Cerberus to take down the Collectors, Naomi Shepard is finally handing herself, and her ship over to the Alliance. Separated from Thane, and the rest of her crew, and incarcerated in Vaancouver, her future is unknown. But when the Reapers attack Earth, she is given the biggest, and ost difficult job of all; Uniting the races to fight a common enemy.Will her efforts be enough?(inspired in part by the Expanded Galaxy Mod, ThaneMod and MEHEM, which can all be found on the Nexus mods websit)





	1. Intro (Handing over the Normandy)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is my first time writing for Mass Effect, so please go easy on me. I started writing this as a way to relax while working on my dissertation, and after replaying ME3.  
> Updates may be sporadic, as I've go uni work to do around this, but I just wanted to try; this is my way of making all of the little things I wanted to happen while playing the game come to life.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it!

Naomi Shepard was never one to shy away from her responsibilities (well, unless you count the time she and Joker stole the Normandy SR-1 and flew to Ilos), but for the first time, she was seriously considering abandoning the Alliance and just… Flying away like Jack had once suggested to her; That plan seemed better than her current one, which involved handing herself in to the Alliance on charges of potential terrorism, and (if you listened to the Batarians) mass murder. The plan was even more painful when she considered the fact that it was unlikely that she would be allowed any visitors while she was incarcerated, which meant she would be away from Thane for an unknown amount of time. If it was anyone else, she would be less concerned, but due to Thane’s illness, neither of them knew how much time they had left together; it was entirely possible that the one person she cared about more than anyone else could die without her there, and that would kill her. With everything she’d been through since she was brought back, Thane had been the only one who could calm her down when she panicked, or cheer her up when everything seemed to be going wrong, and now she would lose him as a support system.

  
_However attractive the idea of running is, I won’t do it. Even if I want to._ The thought pained Naomi, even though she knew it was true; she was loyal to the Alliance, even if they ignored her warnings and only saw her as a traitor. This would be the last time she would see many of her squad, or crewmates until the Alliance decided what to do with her.  
The Normandy was currently en-route to Omega to let any crewmembers who weren’t part of the alliance (r who didn’t want to hand themselves over) disembark before finally returning to Earth; Hackett had guaranteed her that her arrival would be kept quiet, and that she would not be restrained when she arrived – for this she was forever grateful, the last thing she wanted anybody to see was her being publically marched into HQ. She was pulled out of her musings by the sound of Joker’s voice,  
“Commander, we’ll be arriving on Omega in around 5 minutes, I guess it’s time to say goodbye to everyone…” the pilot sounded understandably glum, he’d chosen to join her in returning to the Alliance, which Naomi knew was a difficult choice for him; the last time he’d been with the Alliance they’d grounded him, while they tried to decide if he was responsible for her death, along with the destruction of the SR-1 – and now there was no knowing what they’d do considering he’d gone AWOL and joined Cerberus.

Taking a deep breath, Naomi stood by the airlock; they’d be arriving at Alliance HQ in Vancouver any minute, and her nerves were frayed. Looking back at her pilot, she realised that she wasn’t the only one; Jeff looked awful. He had been with her through thick and thin, and was one of her closest friends, he didn’t deserve any of this.  
“Joker- _Jeff_ , I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you’re not grounded. I’m sure that even though my word may not mean much to most of the Alliance, Anderson will side with me on this. We’ll manage, we have to…”

She turned away, not brave enough to see if he reacted, and took another breath. This was it, she was handing herself in. Remembering one last concern, she looked up,

“Oh, and EDI, remember to-” her sentence was cut off by a synthetic voice coming through her comm,  
“Shepard, I am aware of what I must do. If the Alliance discover I am an AI, they would deactivate me, and add another charge to your record. I will act as a simple VI, and look after the ship while you are gone.”

Naomi nodded once, before returning to her position by the airlock, waiting. She didn’t have to stand there long, within 2 minutes, they were docked at HQ, and, with shaking hands, Naomi opened the airlock to face her uncertain future, knowing that even as she was stuck here, the Reapers were coming.


	2. Incarceration and Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard's incarceration is beginning to get to her when she gets a surprise visitor.  
> A few months later, all hell breaks loose... But she gets back to where she belongs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm basically just gonna upload chapters as I finish them, which means there may be a few at the same time... My plot bunnies are working overtime right now, and I'm full of caffeine, so enjoy!

Three months. It had been three months of soft beds, civilian clothes, and near-isolation, and Naomi hated it. Oh, there were good moments; Alliance brass had placed her under the personal guard of Lieutenant James Vega, who was friendly enough, and occasionally made her laugh, which helped her feel less like she was going mad. It also helped that he believed what she said – he never questioned the truth of her stories, instead asking about what she was going to do about the Reapers. It was both refreshing and frustrating, as he seemed to be one of the few people who actually believed her. Hackett and Anderson has set up a Defence Committee which was meant to be focused on preparing for the Reapers, but it was hard to prepare when nobody really believed it would happen. She hadn’t heard from any of her crew – while this wasn’t unexpected, it still hurt. She missed them; they were more like her family than anything else. She could only hope that wherever they were, they were having more success getting people to listen, and prepare for the arrival of the Reapers.

 _This is bullshit. I should be out there, getting people ready to fight, not stuck in here!_ Naomi paced around her room, wishing she could just go outside – other than a couple of trips to different parts of HQ, she barely left this room. She did what she could to make sure she stayed in shape; couldn’t exactly let herself go soft with the Reapers coming, but it was difficult. She had no information, or way to contact the outside world. She hadn’t even been allowed to contact her own mother. The last Naomi had heard, her mother was working on the SSV: Kilimanjaro, but she hadn’t been allowed any form of communications, so for all she knew her mother could be anywhere. James had promised to keep an ear out for any information on Hannah Shepard, but as of yet, there was none. _I miss you mom… I hope you’re okay, and not worrying too much._  
Naomi was pulled from her thoughts by a knock on the door; this is itself was unusual, most people just walked in (this was technically a cell after all), so she was cautious as she approached. She knew that there had been at least three attempts on her life by the Batarians, it was one of the reasons she couldn’t venture outside; her room was protected by bullet-proof, shielded glass, and there were guards outside. _So either it’s someone new, or I’m in trouble. Not like it would be difficult for an assassin to take me out right now, I’m not even armed_. Reaching the door, Shepard slowly opened it, then sighed in relief when she saw James.

“Vega. Not like you to knock, thought you were allowed in whenever as my guard?” she raided her eyebrow at the marine, waiting for an explanation. She’d told him early on that he could come and go as he pleased; she liked his company, and it wasn’t like she could stop him anyway. Vega smiled sheepishly

“I know Lola, I know. But I have a surprise for you, figured you’d appreciate a little warning.” Saying that, he stepped into the room, revealing the last person she’d expected to see;

“Thane! I- How-” The questions flew out of her mouth without warning, as she flung herself into the drell’s arms. She had been so scared that she wouldn’t see him again, and yet here he was.

“Siha. I tried to contact you, but my messages never got through. Lieutenant Vega contacted me a month ago and we worked with Hackett to allow me to visit. I cannot stay for long, but I hope it will bring you some peace.” Naomi grinned at him, before turning to the lieutenant,  
“Thank you, James, this is exactly what I needed. Being stuck in here is starting to get to me.” James just smiled, before backing out of the door,  
“You’re welcome, Comm- Naomi, it’s nothing more than what you deserve for the times you’ve saves everybody in the damned galaxy.  I’ll be right outside, that’s the most privacy I could get you. You’ve only got two hours though, it’s all we could get, sorry”  
“Two hours is more than I ever expected, so I think I’ll manage.”

Naomi and Thane spent the next two (and a half, thanks to Vega stalling as much as he could) sat together, talking about what they had been doing. Naomi was pleased to discover that Kolyat has actually come to Earth with Thane; they were going to visit some landmarks later that day. Naomi shared what she could about her incarceration; told him about the defence committee and how they still didn’t believe her, how James and Anderson did their best to keep her occupied, and how she hadn’t been able to contact anybody. Thane did what he could to update her about her friends; Garrus was back on Palaven, Liara was still on the Broker’s ship, Tali had returned to the Migrant Fleet; it was more information than Shepard had before, and she relished in the fact that at the very least _some_ of her friends were safe. The last half hour they just sat, talking quietly about nothing, and just enjoying each other’s company. Unfortunately, all good things end eventually, and their brief time together ended with James knocking on the door and announcing that it was time for Thane to go. Shepard smiles sadly at him, before kissing him one last time,

“I’ll see you soon, Thane. Look after yourself out there.” Thane nodded, resting his forehead against hers,  
“Of course, Siha. Once you are released, come to the Citadel. Kolyat and I have an apartment there. You’ll always be welcome.”  
With one last look back, Thane left. The room felt empty without him there, but Shepard felt better than she had since she arrived; Thane was alive, and relatively healthy – that was a big weight off her back. Now she just had to wait until she was free.

 

**_Three Months Later_ **

Leaning against her window, Naomi watched the people below her, wishing that she could be out there with them. There was a couple walking through a park, enjoying the autumn weather, and there’s a child running round playing with a model ship _I miss my model ships. And my fish, I hope someone’s feeding them!_ As she thought that, Naomi smiled – the captain’s cabin that Cerberus had put on the SR-2 was far larger than necessary _And installing a window showing space, for a captain who’s just_ died _in space was idiotic_ , but it did giver her room to really make it her own. Her first model ship had been a gift from Thane, who had found a model of the old Normandy, and from there she just… kept collecting. It became almost like a game between her and Thane; whenever they visited a new planet they’d go and find at least one new model ship together, using the time to relax and just spend time together. Looking back down at the people below, Shepard frowned; she could see Alliance personnel rushing back and forward outside. _Hopefully it’s nothing serious_ , she thought, even as she heard the door open behind her.

“Commander.” James stood in the doorway, and saluted, looking serious for once,  
“You’re not supposed to call me that anymore, James” Naomi shook her head, but she was worried. Something was happening, and she didn’t think it was good. Shrugging, James smiled briefly,  
“Not supposed to salute you either. Come on, the committee wants to see you.” She took a deep breath; with the activity outside, and Vega’s serious attitude, she had an idea what this was about _and if I’m right, we’re not prepared. Fuck._  
“Sounds important.” Nodding, she followed James towards the meeting room the committee used, bumping into Anderson, who confirmed her suspicions; the Reapers were here.

Staring out over the city, Naomi couldn’t quite believe what was happening; first, seeing Kaiden again for the first time since Horizon, where he had broken her heart,  
_And wasn’t that a surprise! Major Alenko; it suits the bastard._  
Then, the Reapers attacked and killed the committee, and almost got her and Anderson at the same time. Now, they were destroying everything! Their only hope of escape was getting to the Normandy, but that involved fighting their way through Reaper forces to a downed gunship, in the hopes that their radio will be able to get through to the Normandy.  
_These troops look a lot like Batarians… It’s barbaric how the Reapers re-purpose our troops._  
Readying herself for a fight, she took cover and fired on the reaper troops, occasionally launching a carefully-aimed incinerate in their direction, all the while wishing she had her rifle with her,  
_as well as with Garrus and Thane_.  
The ‘sniper squad’ as they were nicknamed by her old crew, would make short work of these Cannibals, but with only a pistol it was taking longer. Eventually, they made it to the gunship, activating its distress beacon, and waiting, hoping that the Normandy would get to them in time.  
It was a rough fight; more and more reaper forces appeared, and soon enough both she and Anderson were out of ammo – her only way to attack was using the incinerate program on her Omni-tool. But even that took time to recharge, and the Cannibals were slowly advancing on them. Looking around desperately for ammo, she spotted a knife nearby. Activating her tactical cloak (and praying that it worked) Naomi ran through the enemy forces, using the knife to try and take out as many as she could, before heading back to her cover. By the time she got there, she was exhausted; the extended battle, paired with the explosion in the committee meeting has taken its toll… They needed help now, or they were done-for. As she thought that, she heard a familiar voice call through her comm,

“Cavalry has arrived!” Looking out, she saw the Normandy fire on the cannibals, before hovering nearby, close to some rubble that would work as a ramp to get to the cargo hold. She gestured to Anderson, before running towards the ship – towards her home.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm hoping that future chapters will be longer, this is just an intro to set up the next chapter!
> 
> Also, the title may change, I'm not completely sure I like it... (I'll take suggestions!)


End file.
